During the next few days we observed the advance of strong hostile forces from the direction of Taveta to Himo, and the pitching of large camps at that place. Against the Little Himo, a mountain in front of our line which we were not holding, the enemy developed a powerful attack from the east, across a perfectly open plain, which, after a long and heavy bombardment of the empty hill, ended in its capture. Unfortunately, we were unable to move our troops sufficiently rapidly to come down upon this attack out of the thick bush. From the Little Himo the enemy frequently bombarded the Plantation building of New Steglitz with light artillery. Some weeks before, after a successful buffalo-hunt, I had enjoyed a hospitable hour in the few rooms of this building. The native who had guided us on that occasion had deserted to the English. Now it provided decidedly cramped accommodation for Headquarters and the telephone exchange. I myself was lucky enough to find a fairly comfortable shake-down on the sofa, with the cloth off the dining-table. Telephone messages and reports came in day and night without ceasing; but they did not prevent us from making the material side of our existence tolerably comfortable. We had a roof over our heads, and the use of a kitchen equipped in European style, and carried on our combined mess as previously at New Moshi. The circumstances peculiar to East Africa make it necessary for the European to maintain a number of servants which to home ideas seems excessive. Even now, on active service, nearly everyone had two “Boys” who took charge of the cooking utensils and provisions we carried with us, cooked excellently, baked bread, washed, and generally provided us in the bush with a good proportion of the comforts which in Europe are only to be found in dwelling houses. Even in the heart of the bush I restricted these alleviations as little as possible, out of consideration for the strength, health and spirit of the Europeans. If, in spite of this, Headquarters often preferred to occupy buildings, this was done less for the sake of comfort than in order to facilitate the unavoidable work of writing and drawing.